WATCH: Astros' Villar Slides Into Infielder's Backside

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Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips, left, reaches back to tag out Houston Astros' Jonathan Villar as he tries to stretch a single in the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, in Houston.

Updated at 3:44 PM EDT on Wednesday, Sep 18, 2013

An unfortunate slide into second base has made Jonathan Villar the butt of social media jokes.

The Houston Astros shortstop came face-to-face -- or rather, face-to-butt -- with Cincinnati Reds infielder Brandon Phillips on Tuesday night when Villar tried to stretch a single into a double.

Brandon Phillips took the throw from center field and got a little more than he bargained for when he tried to tag Villar through his legs: Villar plowed his face straight into Phillips' derrière.

At first, Phillips wasn't aware that Villar was making a run for second base.

"The crowd let me know that he was coming to second base," Phillips told The Associated Press. "I just had to quickly put the tag between my legs. That's the only reason I tagged him. If I didn't hear the crowd, I would have just caught it and looked around and he would have been safe."

Not knowing that Phillips already had the ball, Villar started sliding.

"That's the way I play," Villar told the AP. "I'm aggressive. I was trying to make something happen, motivate my team. It's hard to change because that's the way I've always played."

The story of Villar's "Butt Slide," which has taken social media by storm, is being compared to a "Butt Fumble" gaffe by Mark Sanchez, who famously slammed his head into his teammate's backside during a game against the New England Patriots last year.

Check out the play in the video below:
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